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      *Extra TV is reporting that Angela Bassett and her husband Courtney B. Vance are expecting twins through a surrogate mother, who’s about to give birth any time. Bassett, 47, will next be seen in the film “Akeelah and the Bee,” opposite her “Boyz N the Hood” co-star Laurence Fishburne.

       *MTV/Paramount has announced that Mary J. Blige will star as the late vocalist Nina Simone in a feature film about her rise to stardom and her relationship with Paris-based manager Clifton Henderson. Most known for her civil rights anthems “Mississippi Goddam" (written in response to the murder of Medgar Evers) and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," Simone made music on her own terms, defying categorization by swirling R&B with jazz and blues. In 1974, the chanteuse went into exile, eventually ending up in Paris, where she died in 2003.

       *Ahmad Rashad will serve as the executive producer and host of “NBA Access,” a new hoops program for ABC that will offer candid profiles of pro players. The series for ABC will replace “NBA Inside Stuff,” which Rashad has co-hosted and produced for the past 16 years. Co-host Summer Sanders will take over as the lone host as the series moves over to NBA TV on Jan. 29 for broadcast during its 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. kids block. The half-hour “NBA Access” premieres Jan. 28 and will air Saturday afternoons.  "Our cameras will seek out players in the locker room and as they're driving their cars," said Rashad. "This won't be your standard basketball interview show. It'll be more like a reality-based series." Miami Heat star Shaquille O’Neal and Denver Nuggets standout Carmelo Anthony are among the subjects to be profiled.      

      *Brandy is coming back to series television, courtesy of a new WB comedy pilot written by the creator of “Girlfriends,” Mara Brock Akil.  The pilot will star Brandy as a 25-year-old New Yorker who moves to Los Angeles for a new gig as an entertainment editor. Brandy’s last series television stint was a five-year run on UPN’s “Moesha.” Her TV resume also includes the 1997 musical "Cinderella," in which she played the title character.

      *Denzel Washington has donated $25,000 to a program that helps needy residents in Rocky Mount, North Carolina pay their heating bills.  The gift, announced during an event at North Carolina Wesleyan College Sunday, is believed to be the largest donation in the 19-year history of the Winter Assistance for Rocky Mount program. Officials said the donation resulted from Washington's friendship with Rocky Mount native and high school coach Herman Boone, whom Washington portrayed in the 2000 movie "Remember the Titans." The film was based on Boone's experience as the football coach at a newly integrated Virginia high school in 1971.